Nonimmigrant

Sunday, 7 August 2011

Little angels

Angel Island sits out in The Bay, a little less famous than Alcatraz but put to good use by the US government as an immigrant processing facility. It's the West Coast's version of Ellis Island, but was a little less friendly to people coming over from Asia due to the (previously mentioned) Chinese Exclusion Act. Stays could last as long as two years.

These days its a state park, with some of the buildings restored as museums and others just left there. You can hike up to the top for fabulous 360-degree views, but with many little legs among the party we opted for the easier perimeter route. This was a fairly healthy five miles in itself, a fact that only became clear when it was further to go back than to keep going. Everybody just about made it.

Another reason for going was the ferry trip there and back, from Oakland via Pier 41 in SF. Its strange seeing well-known Bay landmarks from different angles, but great to have uninterrupted views of the city from both the boat and the island. Things were a bit choppy, as shown by a soaked Oliver reappearing from on deck, but the British are a nation of seafarers and we kept things shipshape and Bristol fashion.

It was an early start, so breakfast had to be bought out.

How to be extremely popular.

The ferry.

The happy Hammonds, wondering why they left the warmth of the Creek. Why do you think I never go out?

A different view of Pier 39.

Grey clouds, grey ships.

Sailing away from the city.

Maritime traffic.

Finally back on dry land.

No comments required.

Jacob in camouflage.

Sounds like a fine man!

One of the unrestored buildings - a lawsuit waiting to happen!

Energy conscious.

Part of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Just over half way around.

Picnic chaos.

Alcatraz and the city.

Appreciating the tranquility and glorious views. Strangely no one else was.

If the immigrants had had these, their stays would have been much more enjoyable.

The sun finally comes out, and this is what it's meant to look like.

Hannah and Katharine bring fuel for the ferry ride home.

Legal alien.

The cranes of Oakland bring back bad shipping container memories.

No need for a bath tonight.

Saturday, 6 August 2011

Wine flavoured jelly beans

A split occurred in our party today when Mummy, Daddy and Hannah disappeared wine tasting (they told me they were just popping out to do the laundry!) and Uncle David made another bid for "coolest uncle ever" by taking his four nephews and nieces to the Jelly Belly factory! Yep, you'd better have something pretty spectacular up your sleeve Uncle John.

Two years on there were far fewer protests about wearing the paper health-and-safety hats, and there was also a significantly higher amount of beans consumed. We arrived early to find the tasting bar empty. After his fifth trip there, Oliver discovered you could ask for multiple beans at once. After that there was no stopping them.

Not much has changed at the factory since the last three-hundred times I've been, although there is a new range of chocolate coated jelly beans that are more than a little delicious. I tried to stop the kids consuming all their beans before lunch, but was outvoted. Democracy is not always the best form of government. We had lunch in a park, and came home for a swim. The other adults rolled up sometime around 4pm, and seemed very happy with themselves. I wonder why?

At the bar...before the tour!

Attempting to infiltrate.

Tasty looking new jelly bean artwork.

Outside with Mr Jelly Belly.

And new Mr Candy Corn!

Meanwhile, in wine country.

Up the tower at Jacuzzi winery.

Cheer up, Katharine, you're at a vineyard without kids!

Lunch in Sonoma Square.

And at the end of a hard day, Uncle David relaxes with a martini. The kids went a bit heavy on the olive juice, but they're still learning.

But why's it called the Golden Gate when it isn't even golden?

This question was asked at least twice a day by both Oliver and Bethany last visit, and now the torch has been passed onto Rebecca. Even that didn't deter us from the usual family stop-off for pics at the viewpoint and a walk to the first pillar to enjoy the traffic. Things seemed busier on the walkway than usual, and even the new rules of bikes on the right and pedestrians on the left didn't do much to ease congestion. I can report that, across the barrier, cars were moving without delay.

Aunty Hannah and Jacob.

Oliver sticks his neck out.

Bethany and Alcatraz.

An innocent hug, or Rebecca attempting to wrestle Oliver over the side?

How she looked when I told her to stop. I didn't do it again.

The classic, although chillier than last time.

Friday, 5 August 2011

Close, but no raccoons

China Camp State Park is so close that we've never bothered going there. This is a big mistake, which has happily now been rectified! It's an old shrimp fishing village, just over the Richmond Bridge, where a community of 500 Chinese immigrants lived in the 1900s, catching shrimp in the Bay, drying it, and exporting it to Asia. Everything was going very well until the US decided to pass lots of anti-Chinese laws.

The remains of the fishing village are still there, and surrounding it are gorgeous beaches, wooded hills, and a fantastic camp ground. For somewhere so close to civilisation there's also no mobile phone reception, but then nowhere's perfect. It was also a little dusty, which meant that people closer to the ground than me got covered head-to-foot in mud, leaves, etc. This bothered me a lot more than it bothered them.